Walking Survival Skills

Walking down the street here in Málaga, Spain is not a piece of cake! There are new rules to be followed. I´m not sure of what those rules are, other than to hold your ground and don´t chicken out before the person approaching you does--even if there is plenty of space on either side of you to pass by. Let the other person move out of the way! Oh, and if you notice someone on the sidewalk, quite out of your way, change your route to aim right at that person and give them a good bump as you walk past.

At first, I took great offense at all this. I mean, doesn´t anyone realize I´ve got an invisible bubble around me saying, don´t invade my space?! I have only recently starting getting better at all this playing ¨chicken¨ and shifting my shoulders so as to pass people by without moving out of the way. But try doing that when you go out for a run!

Crossing the street is yet another story. Surprisingly, I learned that skill much quicker than the skill of walking down the sidewalk. You just need a lot of confidence! And you have to understand the difference between crosswalks. There is one kind of crosswalk that has lights and pedestrians have to wait their turn (this one is the safest). The others don´t have lights and vehicles have to stop every time there is a pedestrian about to cross (although they step on the break at the last second!) Because of this, it takes a lot of confidence to take that first step into the street. To be honest, it can be a kind of thrill-ride, taking those first steps and hearing the screeching cars come to a halt. It´s kind of empowering, and I often think of the song, ¨I´ve Got the Power¨ by Snap!

So now that I´m starting to get the hang of walking, perhaps I can move onto some new skills a bit more complex--say, riding my bike in the bike lanes that everyone likes to walk in and not get out of your way?